Candidate debates feel simultaneously like a timeless honoring of American democratic practice, harkening to Lincoln-Douglas, and a vacuous example of the contemporary political circus, dominated by empty, rehearsed rhetoric and relentless spinning of the media.

For all their frequent silliness, debates are essential. They act as lightning rods for lower-attention voters, in the process engaging them and educating them about the candidates and issues. That's most needed at the lower rungs of politics — which, unfortunately, is where debates are less likely to be arranged, agreed to, viewed, and discussed.

In particular, Massachusetts voters are being ill served this year by the relative paucity of debates in contests for the US House of Representatives.

It's a real shame, especially because this is the first post-redistricting election. Many in the state have a new, relatively unfamiliar congressman — who they deserve a chance to learn a little about before casting their vote.

Voters should also get plenty of chances to size up the challengers — whether that challenge is considered highly competitive, like Richard Tisei taking on John Tierney, or hopeless, like Joe Selvaggi running against Steve Lynch.

And since these congressional debates receive only a fraction of the press coverage of, say, the US Senate debates between incumbent Republican US Senator Scott Brown and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren — especially in today's decimated media market — voters need an opportunity to attend in person. That requires a series of debates in all parts of the district.

It appears that Tierney and Tisei will end up doing a half-dozen or so debates (possibly including televised ones, being discussed as of this writing). Niki Tsongas and her Republican challenger, Jon Golnik, appear set to debate a fairly reasonable four times.

But Lynch and Selvaggi will meet less often than that, as will Bill Keating and Republican Christopher Sheldon. Ed Markey and Republican Tom Tierney might not debate at all. That's only partly due to incumbents ducking — there has been little interest from community groups, let alone media partners, to hold candidate forums.

The candidate who has received the most criticism is Joe Kennedy III, and with some good reason. Although he deserves credit for meeting with voters and news media in all corners of the district, where he hopes to succeed Barney Frank, Kennedy is clearly minimizing the number and impact of direct clashes with second-time Republican candidate Sean Bielat.

But it's hard to sympathize much with Bielat, either. He blatantly avoided debates with his own competitors during the Republican primary, and he's been running a lackluster campaign that doesn't suggest anyone would gain much from more exposure.

PROS AND CONS

Last week's second meeting between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren — the "Rigmarole in Lowell," I'm dubbing it — showcased the good and the bad of debates. Moderator David Gregory steered the candidates to the most inane and well-trod tabloid topics, while outside, armies of sign-holding partisans wrangled as if control of the Senate hinged upon the occupation of curbside inches. And yet, some 5000 people packing the Tsongas Arena — and a large television viewership — did occasionally witness the candidates articulate and defend their contrasting approaches to crucial policy challenges.

Running Outside the Box Congressman Ed Markey's announcement that he will run in the upcoming special election for US Senate was quickly followed by a choreographed show of institutional backing, from Vicki Kennedy, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and even John Kerry, holder of the soon-to-be-vacated seat Markey desires.

The weird politics of this year’s ballot questions The only two contested referendum questions on November's ballot — physician-prescribed suicide and medical marijuana — are totally sex-free. But some of the donors trying to stop both are notorious homophobes.

In a Bind "Binders full of women" were the social-media sensation of last week's presidential debate.

An attack ad you’ll never see Here's a Mitt Romney commercial that could topple the popular notion that President Obama cares more about vulnerable Americans than his challenger does.

Electoral literacy “Let me tell you about the very rich,” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in a short story. “They are different from you and me.”

Thrill and Agony The vote totals that poured in through the state secretary's office November 6 provided one set of winners (Elizabeth Warren, John Tierney, Joe Kennedy III, medical marijuana) and losers (Scott Brown, Richard Tisei, medical suicide). But there were plenty of other victories and defeats in Bay State politics last Tuesday.

Meet the Freshman class Through much of 2012, the local political media — myself included — were a bit distracted by the big-name, big-money campaigns of Mitt Romney, Scott Brown, and Elizabeth Warren.

Lessons learned? I take the blackout as a sign that the universe wants these smart and savvy yet secluded and out-of-touch campaign elites to hold their tongues — and learn some lessons from what ordinary people have been trying, collectively, to tell them: that voters know more about the country's mood than the campaign strategists do.

MRS. WARREN GOES TO WASHINGTON | March 21, 2013 Elizabeth Warren was the only senator on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, aside from the chair and ranking minority, to show up at last Thursday's hearing on indexing the minimum wage to inflation.

MARCH MADNESS | March 12, 2013 It's no surprise that the coming weekend's Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have become politically charged, given the extraordinary convergence of electoral events visiting South Boston.

LABOR'S LOVE LOST | March 08, 2013 Steve Lynch is winning back much of the union support that left him in 2009.

AFTER MARKEY, GET SET, GO | February 20, 2013 It's a matter of political decorum: when an officeholder is running for higher office, you wait until the election has been won before publicly coveting the resulting vacancy.